Pre-tax profit for the year through September fell to £31.6m, even as revenue rose 4.6% to £136.0m.

'We are pleased to report another year of record revenue alongside making substantial strategic progress toward our ambition of building the investment bank of a generation,' co-chief executives Alex Ham and Ross Mitchinson said.

'This has been a year of investment in people which, whilst impacting profitability, has strengthened our competitive position, expanded the range of services available to our clients and enhanced the overall quality of the Numis platform.'

'Whilst market conditions have become more challenging in the past couple of months, our focus will continue to be on clients, responding to their needs and requirements as we seek to build our investment banking business and become the leading UK equities platform.'

'Our culture and people are central to our ambitions and we are grateful to all our staff whose commitment, drive and collaborative approach have delivered growth across the business this year.'

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